How to explain DNA to a ten year old?

Question

Please answer seriously, this is a interview question. Thank you

Answer 1

DNA is a set of instructions stored in every part of the body. Half of his DNA came from his Mum and half from his Dad. It is a store for all the information needed to make a person and the different features each person has. Everyone has unique DNA (except identical twins) which is why everyone looks different from each other.

I wouldn't have thought at that age you would need to go into thing like different base pairs, but you could talk about it being a double helix. You could even go into detail like, you get 23 chromosomes from you Mother and 23 chromosomes from your father.

Answer 2

To explain it to a ten year old why not break it down in a way they can understand. Maybe get some ink and finger print your hand and then theirs to show how people's bodies are different even if they are related. Explain that they have dna from both parents, and if you tested someone unrelated they wouldnt match dna wise as they aren't family. Explain that no dna is same everyone has different dna just like fingerprints, but what makes up each persons dna is a mixture of our parents dna. Try not to get too complicated make it fun and understandable otherwise you will lose their interest.

Answer 3

All living things are made up of cells, and DNA is contained in each cell, each persons DNA is unique even identical twins will have different DNA, think of it like a PIN number like the one you use to pay for shopping at Tesco's with a credit card, it helps identify people, people can leave their DNA on any thing they touch or come into contact with, police test for DNA when they are investigating crimes to show a person was or wan not involved similar to how they use fingerprints.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How to explain DNA to a ten year old?
Please answer seriously, this is a interview question. Thank you

Answer 5

DNA is just a book made up of an alphabet of four letters (and dubious punctuation). Its the instruction manual for the body!

Answer 6

My son likes to bake with my wife and work in the lab with me so we call it the recipe for the body. It lists all the ingredients needed to make cells and how to mix them together. That's for my 4 year old, but he is above average for his age. I also explain similar to adults when I have to explain to them what I do at work.

Answer 7

The simplest way is to compare DNA with a fingerprint, that
he will have one have of mummy‘s fingerprint and one half
of daddy‘s prints. He surely will understand this explanation
at least, as far as needed at his age.

Answer 8

most people call it a blueprint for life but you could explain it as a shopping list or a diagram. Jurrasic park explains it quite well... check it out.

Answer 9

DNA is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits. In humans, these traits range from hair color to disease susceptibility. The genetic information encoded by an organism's DNA is called its genome. During cell division, DNA is replicated, and during reproduction is transmitted to offspring.

In eukaryotic cells, such as those of plants, animals, fungi and protists, most of the DNA is located in the cell nucleus, and each DNA molecule is usually packed into a chromosome that are passed to daughter cells during cell division. By contrast, in simpler cells called prokaryotes, including the eubacteria and archaea, DNA is found directly in the cytoplasm (not separated by a nuclear envelope) and is circular. The cellular organelles known as chloroplasts and mitochondria also carry DNA. DNA is thought to have originated approximately 3.5 to 4.6 billion years ago.[1]

In humans, the mother's mitochondrial DNA together with 23 chromosomes from each parent combine to form the genome of a zygote, the fertilized egg. As a result, with certain exceptions such as red blood cells, most human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, together with mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother. Lineage studies can be done because mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother, and the Y chromosome only comes from the father.

Answer 10

You could pretend to be one of the uber-Christians on here and that you are deeply offended by the thought of having to tell children anything other than the bible's version of creation - God made Adam from clay and Eve from one of Adam's ribs and that anything else is blasphemous....